Curated OER
Poetry on the Web
Eighth graders search a website and locate a poem written by a specific poet whose work appears in the grade 8 anthology. After listening to poetry, 8th graders present oral or written examples of imagery and an analysis of the imagery.
Curated OER
Synecdoche vs. Metonymy: Definitions
Ask your class to lend their ears, and eyes, to a short video that defines and offers examples of synecdoche and metonymy. Whether it be brand names like Kleenex® and Band-aids® that have come to stand for all the products in a category,...
Curated OER
BioPoem Multicultural Activity For A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Students write a biopoem. In this literature and poetry writing lesson, students write a biopoem about the characters in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry following a specific given format. Examples and format are included.
Curated OER
Life Size Characters
Sixth graders analyze character traits and create a life size character outline. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders analyze character traits of a character using character webs and poems. Students then create a life size...
Curated OER
You Too Can Haiku: How to Write a Haiku
Students explore language arts by writing their own poems. In this haiku lesson, students investigate the Japanese culture and their beautiful music, poetry and art. Students count the syllables in every line of a haiku poem and write...
Curated OER
Take a Breath, Steal Some Time
Young scholars explore the art of haiku's by listening to, modeling and creating them. For this haiku poetry lesson, students choose an object to focus their haiku on. After hearing a brief history of the haiku; young...
Curated OER
A Song By Any Other Name Would Be a Poem
Students examine the poetic elements of a piece of music. They discuss favorite songs, select a song, and write a persuasive essay identifying the poetic qualities of the song lyrics.
Curated OER
Valerie Bloom Poetry
Students listen to Granny Is, a poem by Valerie Bloom and discuss the metaphors in the poem. In this poetry lesson, students read poetry written by Valerie Bloom and discuss the techniques she uses. Students write grandmother poems.
K12 Reader
Adventures with Alliteration! - Adjectives
Have hearty humor with a handy, helpful handout! Kids work on their alliteration skills with a figurative language worksheet that focuses on alliterative adjectives and phrases. After kids add nouns to ten adjectives, they create five...
Scholastic
Defining Conflict Using "The Interlopers"
Feeling conflicted? Work out those issues with a language arts lesson on internal and external conflict. Using "The Interlopers" by Saki, class members identify the conflicts between the characters before writing their own short...
Curated OER
Cowboys
Young scholars analyze cowboy literature. In this United States history and literacy lesson, students listen to a variety of cowboy songs and poetry, view the video "Rediscovering America: The Real American Cowboy," and view related...
Novelinks
The House on Mango Street: Biopoem
Young poets demonstrate their understanding of a character from Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street by crafting a biopoem that captures the essence of this person.
Library of Congress
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
Curated OER
Novel Character Study
Students complete a character study using a database to compile information from a novel. They design a five slide presentation highlighting the character's reaction to different situations in the book. They write an acrostic poem using...
Curated OER
Poetry Pot
Third graders illustrate a favorite poem with images, title, author's name and words of the poem on a clay pot.
Curated OER
Lessons of the Indian Epics: The Ramayana
Students read a version of Ramayana and explore the elements of the epic hero cycle. In this Ramayana analysis activity, students retell the basic narrative of the Ramayana and identify the main characters. Students identify elements of...
Curated OER
The Ballad Of Captain Super
Engaging and fun, this lesson is a good way to reinforce context clues with this lesson, in which middle schoolers investigate literary puzzles. They apply critical thinking skills to codes in order to solve them. They use a variety of...
Curated OER
What Makes a Novel a Novel?
As your authors prepare to write a hypothetical novel, they need all the inspiration they can find! Using a book they have already read (and enjoyed), learners complete a literary analysis by filling in eight short-answer...
Curated OER
Clerihew Dances I
Third graders demonstrate locomotor movements and define non-locomotor movement. They discuss a story and perform a "name" movement.
Curated OER
Clerihew Dances III, 4 and 5
Third graders relate dance movements to chants. They tap out the rhythm of poetry on different body parts.
Curated OER
A Trip to Wonderland: The Nursery "Alice"
Primary learners explore elements of wonder in The Nursery "Alice" by Lewis Carroll. They analyze the plot point after listening to the text. Next, they describe the imagery in various works of children's literature using the given links...
Curated OER
Emotion Similes
Young scholars define what a simile is before writing a poem that is based primarily on similes. They brainstorm and write the poem using the give format. They write drafts, revise and present a final poem.
Lafayette Parrish School System
Teaching Tone and Mood
Tone and Mood are not synonymous! Introduce young readers to these literary devices with a series of exercises that not only point out the significant differences between the terms but also shows them how to identify both the tone and...
Curated OER
What Makes a Novel a Novel?
They always say to write what you know. This approach is used to get middle schoolers prepared to write novels of their own. Using a favorite book as a model, potential novelists respond to prompts that ask about characters, plot, main...